April 6, 2013
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Why I have left facebook
Today’s facebook status reads that I am temporarily closing down and not sure when I’ll be back. That I want to focus on the “LIFE” going on around me and not the LIVES happening miles and miles away.
Lately I have been plagued by sins that have both annoyed, angered and frustrated me. It has led me to question how much sin is acceptable in a believers life, and from there to question whether someone who shows constant failings can indeed call himself “Christian”? Someone here on Xanga argued with me months back that a “Christian” has overcome sin, and no longer deals with it. That man pointed to Matthew 5:48 “You shall be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect” to prove his point.
If you remember, that led to two posts on the matter of “sinless perfection” — “The Pronoun ‘WE’ and the myth of Sinless Perfection” and also “Jesus speaks to ‘Sinless Perfection’.” both of which show that a believer will deal with sin.
But what of sin that shows up as a pattern of life? What of sin that has warred against one’s soul for many decades? What of sin that seems to constantly win victories over you? How do these things show that you are “Christian” — even if no one else sees or knows about them? Christianity isn’t an outward show of “we’ve-got-it-all-figured-out” which smacks more of hypocrisy than truth — rather Christianity is an honest struggle to live in obedience where we hear the voice of God speak through His Word. (RE: The Scriptures, The Bible).
It has only been late in life that I have come to accept Calvinism and understand that all Calvin did was codify Scriptural truth into an organized and understandable system of doctrine that shows the honest bent of all Scriptures. Thus I believe in the total depravity of man, that mankind is a slave to sin, and that without an act of God, no man would move towards him — but rather we all tend towards a downward spiral into idolatry. (The Second Law of Thermodynamics has some fascinating ramifications here…) I believe in the total Sovereignty of God, that God can do and will do as He pleases over that which He has created, much like a potter with clay.
I also, therefore, believe in the perseverance of the saints — That those whom God has chosen to save, He is likewise able to keep until that day of their redemption as Sons of the Kingdom. Philippians 1:6 makes this clearest — “He (God) who began a good work in you (re: salvation) will be faithful to complete it.” Once a person is truthfully in the Hands of God, who in all creation would have the power to take them away from Him? (John 10:28-29) Who could possibly be more powerful than God?
But this all beggars back to my question of how much sin is “acceptable” in a believers life? Can a believer struggle with the same sin for decades and show only little victory over it?
Faith is the trust that God is able to do in you all that He has promised. Has God promised us FULL AND COMPLETE victory over our sin — in this life?
Which brings us right back to the sinless perfection issue and what’s been digging at my heart since December when I wrote against it. What is the standard of Christianity? Is it complete victory over sin (something that 1 John kind of points to in chapters 3-5) —- or —- is it, rather, the repentance, grief & sorrow that grows from having fallen into sin and seeing our need of a Savior with clear understanding of our inability to escape sin without His Grace, without His forgiveness. Is it that we KEEP coming back for forgiveness, because we see how prone to failure we truthfully are without Him?
What is the standard?
Facebook was taking time away from what ultimately was important, namely pondering these questions to find answers — AND — pursuing holiness with all my heart in my daily life. Purity of THOUGHT as well as deed. It’s not that Facebook was a sin for me — rather, Facebook distracted me from the important matter of actually dealing with sin in my life.
God isn’t looking for those who’ve painted the outside show of their lives white…. but left the inside foul and unclean. God is looking for those willing to do the harder work of submitting entirely to His truthful eye, and willing to reform themselves where necessary even though the effort be painful.
Facebook beckons me to spend time on it that ultimately needs to be spent on more important things. Friends are important, knowing their lives is important — but I don’t think it comes down to knowing which K-Pop tune is presently popular, which TV show is everyone currently talking about, and which commercial products I’ve “liked”. And loving God is far more than simply plastering your Facebook timeline cover with some bumper-sticker mentality God-speak.
This day I simply choose God — to cultivate my relationship with Him. To seek (anew) to know His “likes” (the Facebook Blue is a pun, you can laugh now), His “Dislikes”, His desires and plans and feelings regarding my life. I want a friendship with God —- and God isn’t on Facebook for me to look to, to know him requires effort in seeking Him as He’s revealed Himself — In scriptures.
So, for now, and who really knows how long — I surrender my time on Facebook, and instead look to the Creator of faces in His Book. Amen.
Comments (9)
Very good post. Thank you!
Start with Romans 8:37.
Then lose the Satanic lies that say we have to continue living sinful lives.
If Christ has set us free, we are free indeed. Christ gives us the power to live victorious lives over sin.
I like your post here(not in reference to fb) and the way you seek to understand this subject of struggles with sin. Maybe the word “struggle” has some bearing on this discussion. When Jesus tells us that we need to be perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect, or when He says that our righteousness must exceed that of the scribes and pharisees, we who have come to receive His gift of faith, understand that 2Cor 5:21 means that it is not by our effort – the righteousness He speaks of.
I know people who struggle with certain sins that have largely disappeared from my life, and I know some who seem to have little trouble with sins that constantly seem to pop up in my life. What people ignore is that sin is a very slippery slope. It is so treacherous that we need to step away from the edge immediately or we find ourselves in trouble. (such as: Wine is a mocker and strong drink is raging, so that he who is deceived thereby is not wise). All sin is like that because it comes from listening to the deceiver, satan.
Jesus promised his disciples that He would never leave them or forsake them. Sometimes in our ventures into darkness, we feel very much alone and God seems so distant. That is our fault. He is still where He was, and is looking to draw us back to Himself….He will lose none of us.
I have yet to understand many things – among them is that “self-control” is named as the fruit of the Spirit. It’s not that I feel that I have no control, but I wonder how the Holy Spirit counts that as something He is doing. This is purely a theological question that does not change my responsibility to walk in the light as He is in the light – just one of those things I’d like to be able to apply.
Thanks again, for your post.
@wordwarrior39 - @wordwarrior39 - Try reading the Scriptures sometime where it talks about Peter sinning AFTER his salvation…. Or Paul calling himself the Chief of Sinners AFTER his salvation…. or better yet… try reading Romans 7 before you start preaching Romans 8. You know, that part where it talks about “Why do I do what I don’t WANT to do…” who will deliver me… and this coming from… A SAVED MAN. Paul isn’t talking hypothetical… he’s realistically discussing the common nature of man. Or have you likewise forgotten that wonderful verse in 1 Corinthians 10…. no temptation has overtaken you EXCEPT THAT WHICH IS COMMON to men. Even as mighty a man as David realized that he needed Renewal of his heart — AFTER —- God had already said David was a man that pleased him.
Dude — you really need to lay off the Satanic lie that we can live ABOVE sin and remember that John tells us anyone who claims that they are without sin —- calls God a liar. Whoever claims to be without sin… isn’t saved, that’s the conclusion John comes to in 1 John 1:10 which actually stands to set up the sheer beauty of 1 John 1:9 and 1 John 2:1 —- If we confess OUR SIN, God is faithful to forgive us. — I write this so that you will not sin…. BUT IF ANYONE DOES SIN, we have an advocate with the Father. John wasn’t writing UN-believers — He was addressing the faithful.
I realize it was just a small part of the post, but can I disagree with you on Philippians 1:6? I don’t think that it is refering to Salvation like you said. We have salvation because of the shed blood of Christ. I think it is a done deal, and not something that has to be finished. God does not have to be faithful to complete salvation. It is finished already. This leads me to think that Paul is talking about sanctification, not salvation in verse 6.
@ProudToBeAChristianFruitcake - Actually, there are three parts to our salvation, past (what Christ did on the cross), present (What Christ is doing in us now), and future (Our final redemption / salvation from this body of sin.) You can read verses such as 1 Peter 1:3-9, Romans 5:1-10 — pay special attention to the verb tense in Verse 9…. SHALL BE SAVED…. future tense — 1 Corinthians 15:50-57….. So there is a present and future aspect to our salvation that scripture does talk about (Present tense one that comes to mind is James 1:21 which is in present tense… and James is addressing believers in this portion of his letter.)
As to your comment regarding the interpretation of this verse, I did go back to the Greek, for just this verse — and you’re correct that it’s not there for this verse…. but the surrounding context — especially Verse 11 — gives it the connotation that Paul is referring to Salvation and our growth in it. Likewise — the only thing that properly fits (God started — God will finish) would likewise indicate salvation as there is nothing else we can look back and forward to simultaneously.
I am sorry, I just don’t agree. We can and are saved from God’s future wrath on the unsaved. But our salvation is secure, we are saved, and we will always be saved. I think that the only future aspect we have, is God sanctifying us. God is in the process of making us Holy, making us more like Him. This is the future work that I think the verse in Philippians is referring to.
@sheamus420 - I NEVER tolerate SPAM at my blog, it gets immediately deleted and reported.